LAS VEGAS, NV – It was an all-Team Falken night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as its Formula Drift team put on a show and once again took the top three spots.  Tyler McQuarrie earned his first podium this season and secured his career-first podium topping Formula D finish, winning the Vegas “After Dark” event, followed by Daijiro Yoshihara in 2nd and Vaughn Gittin, Jr., in 3rd.  Currently, Gittin, Jr., continues to lead the championship standings with his Monster Energy/Falken Tire 2011 Ford Mustang, followed by “Dai” in second place with Darren McNamara in 5th.  All five Team Falken factory drivers are in the top 10 (McQuarrie in 9th and Justin Pawlak in 10th.)

It was the second time in Falken’s Formula Drift program that the team swept the podium.  Falken previously performed the feat at New Jersey in 2009.  Thus far in 2010, Team Falken has earned nine podiums in just five events.

“This is why we are here!” exclaimed Jonathon Bradford, Falken’s Drift Team Supervisor.  “We had everything in place; the cars running great and the drivers excited to take on Vegas.  It was a good night, though it’s always tough to see our drivers have to compete against each other for the championship.”

Many competitor teams looked strong and came out in numbers as a total of 48 entries made the Vegas Formula Drift event. The Falken drivers showed consistency in practice as team engineers swarmed over the cars like bees discovering a new hive, getting them dialed in to make a run for the top spot and running cool while combating the scorching temperatures.  By the time the Top 4 were competing, it was Dai beating Vaughn, and McQuarrie defeating Tony Brakohiapa.  Gittin, Jr., went on to beat Brakohiapa to take 3rd, while McQuarrie, in his Nissan 350Z Convertible, took down Dai following mechanical issues, driving his Discount Tire Silvia S13 (240SX) in the final.  All Falken entrants, including its privateers, were shoed with Falken’s new Azenis RT-615K tire.

As always, the hospitality was kicked up a notch as Falken played host to 158 dealer guests, while the fans enjoyed the appearances of the Falken Spokesmodels who distributed Falken swag throughout the night.

“The Falken Tire Nissan 350Z ran perfect all weekend and crew at ASD nailed the proper set-up for this Vegas course,” noted a very happy McQuarrie.  “Man, it feels good to be on top.”

The action continues just three weeks away, as the teams return to California for Round 6 and rev up Infineon Raceway in Sonoma on September 10-11.

To learn more about the Falken Tire Formula Drift Team visit www.wegetyougoing.com

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Formula DRIFT Round 5: After Dark Results; Tyler McQuarrie Takes the Victory and Team Falken Tire Sweep the Podium

Long Beach, Calif.  August 22, 2010: Formula DRIFT returned to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Round 5: After Dark. Tyler McQuarrie piloting the Falken Tire Nissan 350Z found the top of the podium alongside his Falken Tire teammates for their 2nd ever sweep.

The Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted the event to a sell out crowd under the stars and lights in the Nevada desert. Round 5: After Dark featured the Vegas Pro Am finals, Fatlace One of One Showcase car show, Monster truck demonstration, Drag Races, and was highlighted with the Formula DRIFT championship competition. The competition heats up with only two events remaining in the 2010 Championship season.

This event in Las Vegas is challenging for everyone involved with Formula DRIFT including the staff, teams, and sponsors, but at the end of the day the event exceeded all expectations with a sell-out crowd, amazing competition, and a tightening chase for the Championship heading into Sonoma,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “The level of competition is at an all-time high and teams are setting the bar for the sport of drifting worldwide.

The action filled weekend came down to a battle of the V8′s. Making the Top 4 for his first time, Tony Brakohiapa in the Cooper Tire / BSP Tuskegee Airmen Mustang went against point leader, Vaughn Gittin Jr. in the Monster Energy / Falken Tire Ford Mustang for third place. Gittin gained the victory and maintains the championship points lead. The final battle pitted Falken teammates Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 against Tyler McQuarrie in the Falken Tire Nissan 350Z. Mechanical problems forced Yoshihara to forfeit from the competition giving McQuarrie his first ever victory and moves him up the rankings into 9th place overall.

The Falken Tire Nissan 350Z was unreal in every practice and through qualifying. It was one of those events where I could just feel it, said Tyler McQuarrie, winner of Round 5: After Dark. “To get my first career victory here in Las Vegas feels incredible and for the Falken Tire team to get the second ever sweep in history is a milestone for the team.

McQuarrie will carry the momentum of the victory to the next stop of the Formula DRIFT championship at his hometown track for Round 6: Point of Impact on September 10-11. This is the last event before the Finals in October and the drivers will be sure to put it all on the line for a chance at the title. Tickets are available on-line. For more information and details visit the Formula DRIFT website at: www.formuladrift.com

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The Breaking Point Formula D Seattle from Ross Fairfield on Vimeo.

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THE “CRAZY SWEDE” HüBINETTE WINS BRONZE AT FIRST X GAMES 16

Los Angeles, CA (Samuel Hübinette Racing) A newcomer in X Games 16, professional stunt driver and two-time Formula Drift champ Samuel Hübinette adds rallycross to his list of successes behind the wheel, with a Bronze medal win in RallyCar Super Rally. “I’m very happy with the combined effort ACP Racing, BFGoodrich Tires, Sparco, Stack Performance, DV Wraps and ES Motorsports made for us to be here,” said Hübinette

He and X Games teammate Andrew Comrie-Picard of ACP Racing each piloted Mitsubishi Evolutions to Bronze medal finishes, with Comrie-Picard taking the medal in the RallyCar Racing event. While his teammate elected to compete in both RallyCar events this year, Hübinette said, “We decided to save the car and only run in the Super Rally event.” We saw drivers like Travis Pastrana braking their cars before the SuperRally started, so we were happy with our decision.

The bronze-winning team owes its success to the hard work of both ACP Racing and ES Motorsports for preparing both Mitsubishis. “I am very happy with BFGoodrich, Sparco, Stack Performance and DV Wraps as sponsors,” said Hübinette, “And extremely happy to make the podium in our first event, even with only 30 minutes of testing in the car earlier in the week and a car not prepped for Rally Cross.”

Team mechanic Brad Manka said, “It’s been a while since we’ve had good luck. I’ve never been so happy for a third place in my life!”

The rallycross format of SuperRally quickly became the fan favorite throughout the heats because of the wheel-to-wheel action. When Hübinette and Comrie-Picard took to the 70ft span gap jump on the same lap nearing the end of one of the heats, fans were out of their seats cheering. The X-Games SuperRally was run in a rallycross format and joins Rally Car Racing, already in its fifth year at X Games. The SuperRally format is based on the wildly popular rallycross in Europe, and features multiple drivers hitting the course at once for a big-air, big-action race. “I can only see the sport taking off and think the timing for the U.S. is terrific. I can’t wait to do it again!” said Hübinette.
The X Games is the premier action sports event on the globe, featuring athletes competing for medals and prize money in sports including BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, and Rally. 2010 marks the 16th anniversary of the high-profile contest. The Rally Car discipline is a hit in the X Games format, consistently setting among the highest television ratings of the four-day action sports event.

Following X Games, fans can watch Hübinette in action in Formula DRIFT competition at Las Vegas Speedway August 20-21 for round five in the series. He is taking on a new role as team owner this season, while also making a bid for the title as a driver in a factory-backed Dodge Challenger. X Games Rally Car Racing teammate Andrew Comrie-Picard competes alongside Hübinette in the drifting series, in the SHR Dodge Viper. The full list of athletes invited to compete at X Games 16 is available at espn.go.com/action/xgames/news/story

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Burbank, CA – 7/28/2010– D1 Worldwide Entertainment, (www.d1gp.com), the official organizers of automotive entertainment’s premier drifting events in the United States announced today the 2010 USA D1 Grand Prix event line-up will be delayed to the 2011 Season.

D1 Corporation, Japan initiated conversations with American organizers last week to discuss the U.S. events and their late season start. It was determined that potentially the quality of the events would be compromised and therefore the D1 brand would be better served by pushing the organization of these events into the to-be-determined 2011 D1 Grand Prix season.

The 2010 D1 Grand Prix on SPEED™ will run as scheduled for its premiere on September 4, 2010 at 6:00PM Eastern Standard Time. The television series will now focus on the eight D1 2010 Grand Prix events emanating from Japan which include multiple North American drifting drivers competing head to head with the greatest drifters in the world. The premiere episode will include U.S. favorites Samuel Hubinette, Mike Pollard and Forrest Wang. Additionally, viewers will find Fox Sport Net running repeats of the10 episodes; dates and times to be announced.

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Samuel Hubinette Takes on the Dirt in 2010 X Games 16 Super Rally

NEWPORT BEACH, California (SAMUEL HÜBINETTE RACING) – Professional stunt driver and two-time Formula Drift champion Samuel Hübinette competes in this weekendʼs 2010 X Games new motorsport concept SuperRally.

The ACP-NOS-BFGoodrich team was in Irwindale, California testing on Tuesday, attended also by a large media audience who were treated to rides on the practice course. “Overall, I am very excited and having fun getting back into racing mode,” said Hübinette. “It was a good day testing today to iron out the car, and I felt comfortable very quickly.”

Hübinette is among a handful of top drivers from around the world invited to compete in the prestigious action-sports contest, held July 29 to August 1, 2010. He will pilot a 2008 Mitsubishi Evolution X built by teammate Andrew Comrie-Picard, himself a four-time X Games competitor.

The team has chosen to run BFGoodrich gravel tires, which have won 11 medals in four years of X Games rally competition. “I am very impressed with the amount of grip from the BFG tires, especially in corners!” Sparco also joins the team in supporting their racing efforts this weekend.

The new discipline of SuperRally joins Rally Car Racing, already in its fifth year at X Games, on Saturday night of the four-day event at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The SuperRally format is based on the wildly popular European sport of rallycross, and features multiple drivers hitting the course at once for a big-air, big-action race.
Although new to X Games, Hübinette is no stranger to the low friction surface of a dirt course or to catching air over the thrilling jumps of rally cross. “I got my first competitive license when I was 16 for junior rallycross in Sweden and raced a Volvo 142, so it feels great to get back to that sport and also begin a new era in my career.”

The X Games is the premier action sports event on the globe, featuring athletes competing for medals and prize money in sports including BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, and Rally. 2010 marks the 16th anniversary of the high-profile contest. The Rally Car discipline is a hit in the X Games format, consistently setting among the highest television ratings of the four-day action sports event.

Following X Games, fans can watch Hübinette in action in Formula DRIFT competition at Las Vegas Speedway August 20-21 for round five in the series. He is taking on a new role as team owner this season, while also making a bid for the title as a driver in a factory-backed Dodge Challenger. X Games Rally Car Racing teammate Andrew Comrie-Picard competes alongside Hübinette in the drifting series, in the SHR Dodge Viper. The full list of athletes invited to compete at X Games 16 is available at www.espn.go.com/action/xgames/news/story

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